Baseball notebook: Tribe keeps Jimenez, lets Hafner go free

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Columbus Blue Jackets Today

It remains to be seen whether the Indians’ latest moves indicate that a fundamental change is
taking place in the way the franchise operates, but it has been out with the old and in with the
new since the end of the season.

The Tribe rolled out its roster of coaches yesterday, and the only holdover among the group was
fan favorite Sandy Alomar, former manager Manny Acta’s bench coach in 2012. Alomar will perform the
same function for new manager Terry Francona.

Additionally, two fixtures on the team probably are gone, as the team declined to exercise 2013
options on designated hitter Travis Hafner and starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez. These moves were
expected, as was keeping starter Ubaldo Jimenez, who has a $5.75 million option for next
season.

The Indians are in need of starting pitchers, so it made sense to exercise the option on
Jimenez, even though he was one of the poorest-performing pitchers in the American League, going
9-17 with a 5.40 ERA.

There was no chance the Tribe would pick up the $13 million option on Hafner or the $6 million
option on Hernandez, but Antonetti said there is a possibility that either or both might be
re-signed at lesser salaries.

Notable

New York Yankees closer Rafael Soriano opted out of the final season of his three-year contract.
The Yankees still are awaiting word from major-league career saves leader Mariano Rivera, who
suffered a season-ending knee injury, on whether he will retire.

• The Pittsburgh Pirates picked up their option on third baseman Pedro Alvarez ($700,000) and
parted ways with catcher Rod Barajas, who had a $3.5 million option. The Pirates also released
reliever Hisanori Takahashi. The Pirates also named Jay Bell as their hitting coach.

• The Los Angeles Angels traded right-hander Ervin Santana to the Kansas City Royals for
minor-league left-hander Brandon Sisk. The Angels exercised Santana’s $13 million option for next
season before trading him and cash to the Royals.

• Reds outfielder Ryan Ludwick has become a free agent after declining his contract option for
$5 million next season. Relief pitcher Ryan Madson also became a free agent after declining his
contract option. Madson needed reconstructive elbow surgery after tearing a ligament during spring
training and missed the entire season. Madson, who had a salary of $5,897,691 for the season, would
have made $11 million next year under the mutual option. He got a $2.5 million buyout.

• The Toronto Blue Jays exercised their $3 million option on left-hander Darren Oliver and
signed outfielder Rajai Davis to a one-year, $2.5 million contract.